Hong Kong is now the world’s most profitable wine market. Is this the ultimate sign of a bubble? Gideon Rachman writes Chinese are snapping up vintages in a manner “oddly reminiscent of the late 1980s, when Japanese buyers were paying unheard of prices for Impressionist art.” Recently, three bottles of 1869 Château Lafite went for a breathtaking £437,900.” Bubble or not, “For Europeans, staring bankruptcy in the face, China’s wine mania should be encouraging.”

“Black Friday” sales edged up just 0.2%. That figure may understate holiday spending. This year, many retailers began Christmas promotions before Thanksgiving. Sales during the first two weeks of November rose about 6.1%. This may explain why sales were up so little on the day after Thanksgiving when retailers traditionally move into the black and begin turning a profit for the year. Bloomberg notes that “estimates for holiday sales vary from little changed to increases of as much as 4.5 percent.”

Sheila Bair fears the next big crisis will start in Washington. The “explosive growth in federal borrowing” is the cause of the FDIC Chairman’s fears. “Federal debt has doubled in the past seven years, to almost $14 trillion” or 62% of GDP. That means each American household shoulders over $100,000 in federal debt. Bair says the deficit needs to be cut before the U.S. wakes up to a new crisis.

“How do you solve a problem like Korea?” The Economist answers with what’s becoming a familiar refrain. The world must persuade China to act. Only China has the leverage to make the North comply. Bigger question: How do you make “China see that a tinderbox it has long regarded as a strategic asset has become an appalling liability?”

Greece, Ireland, Portugal…who knows which country is next. The EU’s stabilization fund for euro-zone members was established with the hope that the €750 billion life preserver would reassure markets and never need to be used. Now, Ireland alone will cost up to €100 billion. Unless the EU helps “its member countries return to growth,” the fund may get used up very quickly.

Greece, Ireland, Portugal…who knows which country is next. The EU’s stabilization fund for euro-zone members was established with the hope that the €750 billion life preserver would reassure markets and never need to be used. Now, Ireland alone will cost up to €100 billion. Unless the EU helps “its member countries return to growth,” the fund may get used up very quickly.

North Korea’s recent “outbursts are almost certainly tied to the struggle over replacing the ailing leader, Kim Jong-il.” China needs to step up and pull North Korea back from this “very risky game.” China, however, is “still in denial.” Given the difficulty of knowing what is actually going on in North Korea, there might even be more enrichment facilities than the one North Korea has admitted. The world, with China in the lead, must prevent North Korea from becoming armed with nuclear weapons. The latter would be a recipe for instability.

Barron’s predicts upbeat holiday sales and a brighter retail forecast for 2011. “American consumers are flexing their wallets again.” The magazine believes retail holiday sales will rise 3.5% to 4%, and the overall U.S. economy could expand by up to 4% in 2011.

“Unless Japan takes dramatic steps to re-energise its shrinking, greying workforce, its economy will suffer.” European countries are also grappling with these issues and soon they will affect China, South Korea and Taiwan. The biggest lesson Japan can “teach the world is about the growth-sapping effects of ageing.” By tackling its demographic problems, Japan “has a chance of being a model of how to deal with ageing, rather than a dreadful warning.”

Throughout Asia, “angst about Beijing’s intentions” is competing “with concern about waning American power.” Europe is lost in the shuffle, turned inward battling the ongoing euro debt crisis. This has created a paradox in Asia. “Even as everyone talks about its relative decline, the US is more sought in the region than it has been for some time.” And as China’s tone gets harsher, its neighbors grow more eager “to get closer to the US.”

Burton G. Malkiel author of the investing classic A Random Walk Down Wall Street says traditional methods of investing are even more important today. Buying and holding beats skillful timing. Diversification is still essential. Those who invested according to these principles between 2000 and 2009 would have seen their portfolios nearly double. Those who didn’t would have seen their initial investment shrink. Mr. Malkiel urges investors to follow “time-tested techniques” so they come out ahead, “even during the toughest of times.”